This is a table project in the works. The Windsor Plywood store near Victoria, BC has been preparing a large piece of Red Oak for a customer. The table is made from live edge red oak and the underside has been finished with a coat of Minwax Poly.

A project shared from Windsor Plywood head office. It was created by an employees husband, Brett, and given to their daughter as a Christmas present. It was Brett’s first live edge table and definitely won’t be his last. Excellent work!

Made a template of the middle line edge, had the glass cut and then traced out the glass onto the wood. It was then routered and the glass set into the recess. The top of the glass was backfilled with 3/8″ of ecopoxy.

The customer project was shared from the Windsor Plywood Langley store.

The following pictures is from the first cut of the slab, to the finish product. The materials used for this project was poplar lumber and plywood, paint and the Mappa slab.
All were purchased from Windsor Plywood Langley. The customer, Kim, personally built and finished all aspects of this project. For more information, contact Kim at his company: Kimwood Specialty Building.
A special mention to Langley LED for the great job installing the LED lighting.

Jonny handcrafted the table from a large slab of Aspen live edge. Aspen is a light-weight wood that features a sought after straight grain. Aspen is also a good substitute for the more expensive and in short supply, Walnut. Great Job!

The following story and pictures were sent in from Ken from Lake Country, BC. Ken is a frequent visitor to the Windsor Plywood in Vernon.

“I have been doing various wood projects for the past 10 years. Mainly for my family, such as self designed cradles and sit on toy boxes.

This summer, I got a chance to buy (7) Black Walnut slabs from a local mill in Summerland, BC.

From these, I built the live edge coffee table and end table. It is the first time that I have worked with this type of rough slabs and took a bit of time to match up the slabs for the table tops and legs. I used my camera and took pictures of each slab and then printed them out. By cutting the slabs out of the paper and matching, it was a good method to develop the tables.

The slabs were narrow enough, that it was possible to use a power planner to smooth out the mill saw teeth marks on both sides of the slabs. From there, use a band saw to cut to length of the table tops. Removed the bark using a right angled grinder with a concrete grinding disk and to shape the live edge curves that I wanted in the tables. Then used the small handheld belt sander and orbital sander to finish the shapes and table tops. Sanding down to 220 grit and using a light and magnifying glass to check for sanding marks.

The legs took some time to design, cut out and finish, using the same tools. Then the tables were sealed with wood conditioner and have 4 coats of gloss Polyurethane. It was hard work to not get runs, so had to sand some of those out with each coat.

I had started to build these for my wife, but there has been interest in purchasing them from a couple people, so if the price is right, I may sale them and then build another set for my wife.

The project was fun and being the first time working with this type of wood, there was a lot of time spent looking at the slabs and then slowly cutting them out and designing how to put them together, overall hours were in the 80 hours per table.

A few pictures to share of some super wide Natural Live Edge Parota Hardwood. Some of these pieces measure up to 57″ wide by 160″ long. Parota is primarily Central America, as well as Mexico and northern South America. Trees grow from 65 – 100 ft tall and 5 – 8 ft in diameter.
Check out your local Windsor Plywood store for stock and selection.

The following story and pictures were submitted by Ed at the Windsor Plywood Winnipeg. It was started with pictures shared from a loyal customer, Boris. t (Thank you Boris! For going the extra mile, we see your hard work in your words and pictures.)

I am sending you a number of pictures that show not just the final product but some of the process steps, too.

I have worked on a number of projects, but this one was fairly large and in some ways new to me. It all started when I came to Windsor Plywood to buy paint as my wife and I started to redecorate the house. We knew we needed a new dining table and were already considering making it out of a live edge slab. There was no plan made, but then I walked into the store and immediately saw this gorgeous slab. The wood looked warm and beautiful, with a striking edge, and the width was perfect. The slab was almost flawless, and after about a week of contemplation, we decided to take the opportunity. It was the quality and the uniqueness of the slab that became the final decision point.

The size of the slab was 3-3/8” x 44” x 16’. I figured I could make a 10’ table top and use the two 3’ ends of the slab for the legs. I am an engineer and I like to first make a design of my woodworking project using DraftSight software. The project got me so excited I would sometimes wake up at night and start thinking of and coming up with good ideas and solutions.

The slab was delivered to my house at the end of January, and it took me about two months working after work and on the weekends to have it finished. One thing I have learned is, making something the first time never gives the best result. So I had to check everything several times before making each step. And yes, I know I could do some things better yet.

I built a guide jig around the slab and a sleigh for the router. I flattened both sides of the slab which brought it from 3-3/8” to 2-3/4”. I sanded the face side using a rented floor sander. I made a template for the legs by drafting them, then using my scroll saw to cut the template out of 3/8” MDF board. I used a jig saw and a router to finalize the shape of the template.

The table top of this thickness does not require a frame, and each leg can be attached to the top using side blocks on each side of the leg. The support blocks were attached to the legs with good epoxy. Each block had 3 holes for 3/8 x 5” stainless steel lug bolts to hold them to the table top (6 bolts per leg).

After the legs were attached to the table, it was finally ready for finishing. I used 80, 120, 220 and 320 grit sandpapers to prepare it for oiling. I also decided to use pure unmodified tung oil from Lee Valley, to finish the table. Tung oil has several advantages: it does not change the color of the wood, preserving its original color and penetrating deep and bringing up the texture. It protects wood from liquids, juices, and alcohol spills. It does not darken over time. It is food safe. The only problem with tung oil is that you have to have a lot of patience waiting for weeks to add another layer. I am still in the process of doing it.

Parota wood had it surprises! First, it appeared to be very light and easy to machine and sand. Second, it is the most irritating wood there is, with an effect of a pepper spray! On the scale of irritability, I would give it 10 out of 10. Nothing can be done with it without a good dust mask.

The job is over now and it brings us a great deal of satisfaction. My wife and I like to arrange dinners for our family and friends, and we already had a few dinners around the new table. Everybody likes to come join us even more now! Our dining room became a fabulous, warm place.

Thank you for making my project public, I hope it will encourage other folks to go for big projects.